Goldman Sachs is preparing to eliminate race, gender identity, sexual orientation and other diversity-related factors from the criteria its board uses to evaluate candidates, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Since taking office last year, U.S. President Donald Trump has launched a broad campaign against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices in both the government and private sector, arguing that these programs are discriminatory.
Several major companies, including Morgan Stanley and Citi, have eased their diversity efforts under pressure from the Trump administration.
Goldman’s decision came at the request of the conservative activist nonprofit National Legal and Policy Center, which is a minority shareholder in the bank, the WSJ report said, adding that the group submitted a proposal to Goldman last September asking it to remove the DEI standard.
Reuters could not immediately confirm the WSJ report.
Goldman Sachs declined a request for comment from Reuters.
The Wall Street bank last year removed the entire “diversity and inclusion” section from its annual report after rescinding a four-year diversity policy that required companies to have at least two diverse board members before being advised on an initial public offering.
The WSJ reported on Monday that the board’s governance committee is currently identifying qualified candidates based on four key criteria, including a broad definition of diversity that includes perspective, background, professional and military experience, and other demographic considerations.
The committee now plans to remove references to additional demographic factors such as race, gender identity, ethnicity and sexual orientation, the report said.
(Reporting by Devika Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
Reuters
